On August 10, 2011, longtime Teamster leader John Cleveland and his wife Eula were honored at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for their activism in championing the causes of black workers.

The Clevelands are being recognized with an academic chair in black history to be titled “The John and Eula Cleveland Chair in Afro-American Studies.” The chair will be funded by an endowment from the Cleveland estate.

John Cleveland, who passed away in 1989, was the first black International Vice President for the Teamsters, a man who broke through barriers, who was known for his integrity and his devotion to improving society at all levels and bringing dignity to working families. He was inducted into Labor’s International Hall of Fame in 2010.

Eula Cleveland, who passed away in 2009, broke barriers as well. She was the first black woman elected to office in her local in 1952 and was a key figure in organizing, civil rights and women’s rights for decades. She was also known for her charity work. She received the Teamsters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

The chair, funded in perpetuity by the endowment, will fulfill the Clevelands’ wish to provide generations of students the ability to explore and understand the context, dynamics and richness of black American history.